What not to do when doing the data cabling for your home

23 May 2016

Data cabling is something that has to be performed in every house, as the demand for fast internet services are of importance for every home owner. If you've just gotten a new house built, you can save some money on doing the data cabling yourself. Doing your own data cabling can be a complicated business, and it's important that you are aware of how not to do it to get the best possible cabling solution for your home. In order to do so, you need to know about the most common mistakes when it comes to doing your own data cabling.

Separating voice and data cabling

Some people choose to separate the voice and the data cabling, as the voice cabling seems to be less important. This was a common solution to save money, as the voice cabling could function also with a less quality cable than the data cable. However, with new solutions using data cables for voice purposes, there's no real need for a voice cable getting wired on its own. A combined voice and data cable can be a bit more expensive than a cable used solely for data, but less expensive than using two different cables.

Not using a cable rack

It can seem a bit redundant to buy a cable rack and different coloured cables for your home data cabling, but it can make things much easier going down the road. Using a proper cable rack won't just keep your cables separated for easier managing, but also make it far easier to install new cables. If you don't use a cable rack, you might just add new cables on top of the old ones, which can decrease their functionality as well as making them much more difficult to find when you need to replace or repair them.

Forgetting to test

Another common mistake people make is to install all the cables and then forget to test them regularly. Cable testing is very important to keep the data cabling in your home functional. You need to test your cables at least once a year to make sure that they are still fully functional. You should also test them if there has been a storm, as the electricity from lightning can affect your data cabling. Finding out if your cables are less functional than what they should be is extremely important, as malfunctioning cables can create a lot of trouble for you. If a cable is malfunctioning, it can even become a fire hazard, meaning it can start a fire inside your wall where it's difficult to put out before it has spread.

About Me

Hi, my name is Tanya, and when I first had kids, I restricted their screen time heavily. As they got older, they started arguing, pointing out how much they learned while watching TV and how their shows were largely more educational than many of the storybooks we read. At the same time, I begin to do some research on the role of technology in kids' lives, and I learned that the issue is not as black and white as I first thought. Now, my kids use tech freely, and my twelve-year-old just built his first computer. It lets him game for far less money than we would have spent on a new desktop. I love to write, so while my kids play, I thought I'd start a tech blog for sharing tech with kids. Enjoy and thanks for reading.